DC’s attempts at a rich, Marvel-style cinematic universe barely got off the ground with the leaden and surprisingly grim “Man of Steel” in 2013. But with a number of films planned through the next few years, and the Justice League-launching (if slightly-less-grim-looking) “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” set for March 25, things are finally starting to look up for the longtime comics imprint.

“Suicide Squad,” which doesn’t land until August, already looks to be the best of this first wave. The hackneyed plot — “A secret government agency recruits imprisoned supervillains to execute dangerous black ops missions in exchange for clemency” — is a sturdy enough frame over which director David Ayer drapes attitude-laden dialogue and frenetic action setpieces.

Check out the first full-length trailer for the film, which stars Will Smith as Deadshot, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Jared Leto as The Joker, Common as Tattooed Man, Viola Davis as Amanda Waller and many more. It makes good use of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” some lavish production values and a refreshing color palette that allows bursts of color to poke through the darkness.

Like a miniature version of its namesake, the Colorado Symphony Orchestra’s “Symphonic Tribute to Comic Con” is all over the map when it comes to invoking and celebrating nerd culture.

Last year’s debut event featured the CSO performing songs from the “Star Wars,” “Star Trek” and “Lord of the Rings” films alongside video game scores (including the work of Denver native and guest conductor Austin Wintory, such as Journey), superhero themes and more.

This year’s event has promised to expand on last year’s successful first outing with more Batman (which makes sense, given the debut of “Gotham” on TV), Beetlejuice and some returning favorites — including Wintory.

Check out the full schedule for the Nov. 15 show at Boettcher Concert Hall below.

A prequel to Batman, the show focuses on Commissioner Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie of “The O.C.”) and his rise from a rookie detective in the police department.

From Fox:

“Gotham” is an origin story of the great DC Comics super villains and vigilantes, revealing an entirely new chapter that has never been told. From executive producer/writer Bruno Heller (“The Mentalist,” “Rome”), “Gotham” follows one cop’s rise through a dangerously corrupt city teetering on the edge of evil and chronicles the birth of one of the most popular super heroes of our time.

Joaquin Phoenix during a photo call for the movie “Her” at the 8th edition of the Rome International Film Festival in Rome. (Associated Press file photo)

Joaquin Phoenix has captured the attention of executives at Warner Bros. Pictures, who are on the hunt for a mega-villain — rumored to be Lex Luthor — for the next DC Comics pic Batman vs. Superman (2015).

The pops programming at the Colorado Symphony Orchestra rarely gets as nerd-friendly as it is for the upcoming “Comic Con” show on Nov. 16.

“The Hero’s Journey: A Symphonic Tribute to Comic Con” will see the full orchestra performing tunes from “Star Trek,” “Star Wars,” “Dr. Who,” “Aliens” and various video games — and we learned this week that it has just added DeVotchKa vocalist/songwriter Nick Urata and Denver-bred composer Austin Wintory to the roster.

Wintory, as you may know, wrote the first full video game score ever to be nominated for a Grammy for last year’s Journey, a game which topped numerous Best of 2012 lists (he lost, unfortunately, to the “Girls With the Dragon Tattoo” soundtrack).

UPDATE: Wintory confirmed to us that he will be conducting the Colorado Symphony Orchestra during the “Journey” portion of the program. “It’ll be a debut with them for me as both composer and conductor. Nothing short of a lifelong dream on both counts!” he said via Twitter.

Urata is the leader of Denver’s renowned gypsy-punk-mariachi chameleons DeVotchKa, a band that has also collaborated with the Colorado Symphony in the past. He’ll play the theremin during a few appropriate sci-fi numbers.

In addition to the furor expressed on Twitter (follow hashtags #Batfleck, #BetterBatmanThanBenAffleck and #Batffleck for some good laughs. Oh, Internet…) some uber-passionate fans have actually started petitions — yes, PETITIONS — to keep the cowl Affleck-free.

Variety even went so far as to ask if Ben was right for the job, which, according to the results visible right now, he is apparently not.

Variety asked “Is Ben Affleck the right choice to play Batman?” The screenshot shows the results as of 9:42 a.m., Friday, August 23, 2013.

It got me thinking, though. Us nerds have these fights all the time — Who’s the better Enterprise captain, Kirk or Picard (no one seems to care about poor Jonathan Archer or man-in-the-beeping-chair Christopher Pike)? Who’s scarier, the alien from Alien or the Predator (this one even became a comic book and eventually a movie which I still haven’t bothered with)? And so on.

So it never surprised me to find myself in discussions about who the best Batman is. And even before Christian Bale was an option (or Clooney, for that matter), I was convinced it was Michael Keaton. Laura Keeney agrees, and gave me a high five when she learned my allegiance.

I felt like he captured the darkness and inner turmoil of the Dark Knight fantastically, and played the debonaire Bruce Wayne well enough. Actually, I like the bits of humor Keaton injected — “Do you like eating here?” “Oh yeah. You wanna know the truth? I don’t think I’ve been in this room before.”

Others argued that Val Kilmer brought a lot more suave sensibility to the Wayne character, and that Clooney filled out the rubber suit better. Or that Adam West was simply an unbeatable classic. When Bale came along, for me, it challenged Keaton’s reign as the supreme Batman. Challenged — didn’t surpass. No one could get nuts like Keaton’s Bruce Wayne.